yard work is great for the soul.

yard work is great for the soul, especially when your soul needs a nice, big, fat ass kicking.  my yard is an abyss of leaves and leaves and more leaves.  i have the huge oak tree that sheds year round for that.  i pulled a mommy dearest on the privet trees, truth be told. 

lopping off branches is THERAPY.

my sister came to stay with us for a while and she is so motivating for things like cleaning up our yard which, until today was full of piles of leaves and spider webs in the trees leaves (scary).  we made planters, replanted flowers, succulents, cleared out so much branches and weeds.  i mean my yard looks TIGHT now.  i'm so happy it's cleared!  plus we scored a free gas lawnmower from the neighbors. it was a good lawn care day all the way around.

sometimes it just takes an extra set of hands and feet to get stuff done like you see it, the extra help could not come at a more needed time!  between school suddenly starting for lucy (i for some reason had it in my head that she started after lyric which is after labor day BUT NO her school starts in three days which led me scrambling to some degree but it wasn't the end of the world with the supplies--just new uniform shirts and jazz.  IT IS ANOTHER STORY ENTIRELY THAT WOULD LEAD ME TO NOT KNOW THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR ONE OF MY CHILDREN, so we won't go there out of respect for my pride.  it's not like i've had a lot on my plate or anything!), my job suddenly pink slipping me (yay?) and my sister staying here for a bit there has been some craziness over the last few days.  but hey, when is that never the case? i feel lucky to have her right now when i need to be looking for a full time position, she can help me with lucy and whatever else comes along. for that i am so very grateful.

hard work gave my soul the business today.  and that is just alright with me.

jeshy cat was not really ok with all the commotion but she does love a tidy yard!

in which i post pictures of our meager vegan vacation

our friends got married in portland over the weekend and we have been looking forward to this little mini-getaway for months.  i've had the date saved at my job since i started it was that important for me to plan this come hell or high water!  i do believe, the last solo vacation shawn and i have been on was when we eloped to get married in tahoe and that was a long time ago, lemme tell ya.

we were coming to git portland.

we tried to pack as much into the weekend as possible and the clear winner was shawn with a skate session several times per day with different groups of people each time.  i was impressed, and he had a permasmile.  i got to catch up with my friends at a cool little spot on hawthorne for some laughs and some wine.  and i also got to be a solo tourist down in the pearl.  i spent some quality time in powells and to see if our favorite sushi place was still there.

first things first though.  on the way up i got to spend a few hours and a very delicious dinner with gladcow clan.  tatchos and salad with vegan ranch and just some freshly made berry donuts made into a sunday with coconut cream whipped topping.  you know, nothing fancy ;p

salem porch time at dusk is our favorite time.

dinner & drinks a la summer.

my fridge magnet found in the wild! you can have one too, and now in different colors!  look here

very berry gf donuts made just cuz

and here they are over some vanilla soy ice cream and fresh berries.

we drove from salem to portand in record time.  that was my first and best time in salem.  i have literally never stepped foot there before that night. <3 font="">

what is a pdx vacation without all the other food pics you know i took?  nothing, i say.  so let the food pics commence!

here's me about to have sexy time with my sammich

soy curl bbq with a side of m&c.  #vegan

http://homegrownsmoker.wordpress.com/

sweetpea breakfast giving to me everything that i don't get here in sacramento.  a bagel with a vegan shmear.  fml.

sweetpea brekkie #2, the hooten-biscuits n gravy with grilled tempeh plus tofu. 

los gorditos location #2 did not disappoint with this tofu torta.  FML.

FULL VEGAN MENU.

so the reason we went to portland was for the wedding of our dear friends.  they had a lovely ceremony and reception at the portland historical mansion.  open bar!  old friends!  old ladies falling over in their chair!  slow dancing!  this wedding had it all.  did i mention it had a full bar?  speaking of bars, afterward little dave and i had the big idea to go to the bye and bye for some drinks and vegan bar food.  apparently i fell asleep sitting up in my bar stool.  THE SURE SIGN OF A GOOD TIME!  thank you shawn for being there for me in times like these, and being a sober driver! love you and your SxE ways!

we clean up nicely sometimes.

we're a happy couple sometimes too :)

bride!  melissa was beautiful.

i was triple fisting drink by this point.

shawn, jason and zach.

shawn looking all dapper.

so there was a lot of skating, snacking, socializing and snazziness going on back in our beloved pnw.  the girls got some good snacks for being so good while we were gone.  there were so many new places to check out since we had left what, going on 5 years this november.  TOO LONG. shawn skated new places, and met old and new faces.  i got to take pictures with the real camera, and lurk about while he skated his heart out. we had alone time on the last night and it was really fucking nice.  we both were some pretty happy campers--i can't remember being that happy in a while.  quelle sad to have to leave but so happy i have even more memories to tide me over for a while.    

snax for the girls!

shawn's fav skate shop.

he had a breakfast cookie that day lol

on the walking bridge above the skate park.  apparently they are taking the bridge out and "trying" to save the park below. 

zach, sara, rudy, shawn and little dave.

it's hard to take a shot of this while you are driving and you have a compass get in the way of a good shot. don't do this at home, kids.

melissa has a bowl in her backyard.  ridiculous!

two of shawn's oldest and dearest friends. three if you count the pug.

sk8rs

NEEDLESS TO SAY i miss portland dearly and you know that time when you go back to the place you call home, the place you didn't want to leave in the first place but you had to?  yeah, it's that time.  when we have a real come-to-jesus about what is going on with our lives, and maybe how we can get back get back get back to where we once belong.

PMA flags

i got my special package from my cousin jes today, and it was just as i imagined it would be:  awesome.  and it looks amazing swaggin' on my front window.

she even made it say "vegan" and "compassion".  nice!

so right now, i am taking a union break from getting ready to jet up to the grand old pnw back home to portland, oregon for a friend's sure to be gorge wedding!  shawn is in high heaven with all the skate-dates he has and i am peeping out some of my most dearly missed friends.  we are calling this our second honeymoon because we haven't had a proper vacation in um...years.  so we are jamming econo on this trip because we are just not those ones.  yet.

here is my favorite picture of my girls when they were small and we had a fun day at the woods in st. johns, shawn skated the park there and we went to proper eats.  which by the way, is totally proper.  :)  i can't wait to take lots of pics and have these new memories of our time in portland.  it will be hard to come back to sac.  it never really did feel like home to me...but home is where these two are, for real:

 

 

 

this teeter totter was SO SQUEEKY.  funny what you remember about special days...

i will miss ALL THE CATS (and the DOGS too...just a little though ;p).  i hope they are all happy to see us when we get back.  i love these little butthole kittens more and more every day.  all the jingle balls up and down the hall action at all hours, all the little cloth mice i step on, all the little wrappers they carry around and bat because they make that irresistible crinkle noises, when they dive for my ankles when i am trying to carry food to their food bowls.  *sigh*  i love them!

making bread on my belly.  24/7.  #catlady #porvida

next blog i will be reminiscing about portland and complaining how i am in the wrong state.  just you watch :)

buttons! new and some oldies but goodies.

so i designed and printed out the buttons i was mentioned i was making for my cousin's craft show.  these will look lovely on her table i think. buttons are the new business card, don't you know.  i can make some buttons for you too!  

visit etsy.com/shop/LOVErainn

 and for my etsy shop, i just added some new colors for the ever so popular "vegan food only" fridge magnet.  nice glaring brights so your guests and roommate can remember what's up in your kitchen.  go here to see what's new.

NO YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR COWS MILK AND FRIED CHICKEN LEFTOVERS IN MY FRIDGE.

 

independence

i am having some independence from feeling like shit, so if that is something to celebrate i'm all in!  i switched up some meds, am taking some herbs for what appears to be perimenopause and i can say with some certainty that it's all coming together.  my thyroid could be at better levels but with my lack of insurance i can't really push the issue with this dr.  i'm lucky in a sense she listens to me on that issue at all and i get regular blood work! (come on obamacare, i could use a real insurance plan that works for me...yesterday!)

in crafty news:  i updated my ETSY SHOP with some cute pocket mirrors and pins i've been meaning to list for ages and a neato vintage mid-mo crock set.  check it out.  my cousin jes down in merced is trading me a very cool custom vintage fabric prayer flag for some of logo buttons as she doing a craft show there at the end of the month and having giveaway-buttons on your table is always a good thing (pro-tip for vending.  that and having some candy.  people love a little wrapped candy.).  i will be sure to post pics of the buttons i make for her, maybe you need some too?  while you are on etsy check out her shop, LOVErainn for some flags for some inspirational words of peace & blessin's :)

so this past week we have been doing another extended overnight pet sit, and this family has ALL THE RESCUES.  hens from animal place, a guinea pig, some of the biggest rabbits i've ever seen, cats and dogs out the ying yang.  i had the 4th of july duty and i am happy to say they were just *a little* traumatized by the noise.  this is out in arden arcade so their version of the 4th of july and the version we get here in our hood is quite different!  i have to say it was quite pleasant for me anyway.  and i got to bond with the best weenie dog i have ever met.  remember if you are local to sac i do overnight pet sitting!

,

monkey paws.  *love*

things i am grateful for:  tuesdays off so i can again take care of my own business and have a standing library date with the girls while they enjoy being lazy for summer break, a trip to PDX later this month for our friends wedding. it's been too long since we've been back and i am beside myself with excitement (ROAD TRIP!), and the fact we just lived through 7 days of the worst heat wave to hit us yet so i know i can survive just about anything after that mess!  most thankful our air conditioning unit did it's job and i can't even worry about the 24-7 running of the air conditioner bill yet.  we didn't die!  yay!

i don't know if we will be able to swing the fair this year again or not.  i would at least like to go one time and ride some rides and have some wine slushy.  you know i have never ridden the monorail?  there is only two monorails in california and the other one is at disneyland.  i suppose i should bucket list that, since i'm here.  

ciao, and until next time. 

you blink your eye and a year passes

well.  hello blog!  it has literally been a year since i have taken to the blog and actually posted.  i could say i've been real busy (i have), or that the last two years of this blog made me too sad (it did) but in truth it's about a 40/60 split of both of those excuses, er i mean reasons for not updating. today i will do a very straight forward update kind of post.  i mean, it has been a year and all.

this is and has always been a personal blog.  and sometimes you lose your voice.  so there.  so what?  sometimes i need...time. lots and lots of time.

things take time to work through.  you got your finances, you got your career issues, you got your family drama, you got your health issues.  sometimes all at one time, or more insidiously just slightly overlapped, just so you don't really have time to digest and cope properly each issue.  the answer is not in a pill for me (well in the case of my thyroid yeah, a little hormone pill can do miracles! more posts on that drama to come!), but more in the battle to balance the issues at hand (because they keep coming....). try not to let one knock you over so far so you can't get up--or it takes months to weeble-wobble back into a standing position even though it looks like i'm up and about, i'm sleepwalkin'.

so today i am on the weeble of the wobble.  things are good for our family, and i have a clearer perspective on *things*.  a little time, health, a good support system & stability=the way for me.  also removing Things That Are Not So Good has improved my PMA tremendously.  like, turned it up to 11 tremendously.  distancing myself from some situations, some feelings, some memories has kept me going! 

life update:   working good hours for a small local supplement company as an office manager/PA.  it's not a vegan company so that's why i've keep it on the DL.  it has supplied me with the self-confidence and skill utilization that i needed after the shop closed and then working for wayfare & the catering company jobs.  i actually have helped this business get to a new financial level in 6 months and even though it's not my end all be all job because of the PA side of it, i am thankful for it in so many ways.  i am reminded that i can achieve some great things and am working on my ultimate goal becoming an freelance online office manager for startups who need help with their businesses.  that i know something about!  also, i will be getting certified for non-profit management and online business management.  i realized i am really good at what i do when i am allowed to do it and i am giving myself permission as of today. 

#catlady por vida

we (shawn & i) have also been doing some moonlighting as a premium overnight pet sitters, via referrals and it's been great.  we get to play with animals and get paid :)  i love helping the animals be stress free while the peoples get to vacation or get away for a few days (stress free too!).  

one of my fav chow chow, who used to be a little monsters pet care client of beth's. 

my elderly cat client who has a little problem breathing sometimes.

 
we also are making use of our button makers with making buttons for bands, biz, non-profits etc.  you can find that website here:  2centsbuttonco.com

you remember nacheez.com from the shop yes?  of course you do.  buy some direct.

shawn is great, he works with developmentally disabled day groups and we are hoping to bring his sister with CP out to california to get some better quality care. she's great and would love to be around family, instead of where she is at. shawn is really one of the most caring people on the planet, and for that i admire him very much for what he does.  he's pretty awesome :)  we just had our 9 year wedding anniversary and in october it will be 10 years of knowing one another.  like i said he helps me with our side businesses without complaining, and still skates (por vida). i think i will keep him:

*sings* and they said it wouldn't last...

the girls are doing SO GOOD!  lyric is going into a artsy charter school that is truly more in line with our family values and her grades are good even after her horrific middle school experience at sutter and having some pain in her knees.  lucy goes to her little college prep charter and is an A+ student.  it's pretty  fucking cute!  she's awesome and we are so proud of her.  (if you recall she's high functioning on the spectrum so we get to be EXTRA proud of all our efforts with her in school and socially!)

me and my eldest making stink faces

lucy and ramona at bodega bay

i have officially turned into a cat lady.  we found a feral mama cat and her 4 babies in our garage and even though we haven't caught her yet we got the babies.  and baby kittens we have...everywhere!  we are having a hard time giving them up.  it's always been my dream to have a zillion cats but i don't know if i should try and make that a reality or not.  #catlady

maximum meeting one of the ginger kitties for the first time.  he looks...hungry.

too many kittens and there is one not in the picture!  ZOMG

so i will update more about my transitioning into online business management/self-employment as it happens and this blog will once again be my little space for my little thoughts about nothing, just like it used to be.  if you came here through googling never felt better vegan shop you can still find some stuff on my etsy shop and i will be adding vintage and more buttons to it just like the old days. *cue babs 'the way we were and....fade.

i turn 42 tomorrow, don't feel a day over 32 lol.  especially after 3 glasses of merlot and when there is a big vegan cake in front of me.